Salva mea
by E.DelaMer
Summary: An old friend of Charles E. Xavier pays him a visit. Tension rises when her presence reveals some secrets and forces some mansion inhabitants to deal with their feelings. RL, and Mr.XOC kinda.I really try to put the regular Characters in the foreground.
1. CHAPTER ONE

**A/N: Okay, I posted this story before. But now...haha...I have a Beta! Yes, hear hear. And now it's improved and hopefully better. I'm not going to beg for reviews but _please_ review. I love reviews. One review, no matter if go or bad, I'm going to post another chapter. I know, weird plan but I'm desperate. grin!**

**Please R/R.**

CHAPTER ONE

"Well done Kitty, only a little more training and a little more concentration the next time and you will be able to perform…" But Professor Charles E. Xavier never finished his sentence for he suddenly sensed a presence he never thought he would feel again.

Kitty, the young student he had been talking to, looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Professor?" she asked, but the older man didn't hear her. He was concentrating on the person's mind to be sure that it was really the one he hoped for, the one he hadn't seen for ages, for over one decade in fact.

Kitty asked again. "Uh…Sir?" She waved a hand before the Professor's eyes, but he didn't even blink. He was too well trained to let himself get distracted by anything, when he was concentrating.

And just as suddenly as the Professor had stopped mid sentence, he recovered and awoke with a smile on his face. Astonished about the theirteacher's unusual behavior, all students watched curiously as he slowly made his way to the door.

"Class dismissed!" was all he said when he opened the door and disappeared.

They didn't leave though. Dying of curiosity they tried to follow the Professor.

When Bobby Drake, one of the mansions prefects and X-Man for over one year now, came along, he ushered all the curious students away.

"What the hell are you lot doing outside the classroom?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips, staring at them with his angriest face.

"The Professor!" one of the youngest students stuttered and pointed at the now far away man, steadily rolling further away.

Bobby turned and gestured the class to return to their room. "I'll find out what's going on, and you'll stay where you're supposed to be now, until I tell you something else!"

Bobby jogged part of the way and shouted: "Professor, wait!" But Professor Xavier didn't stop, not even turned to look at who was shouting after him.

Just when Bobby reached him, Charles had opened the door for a young woman.

She just stood there holding a bag in her hand and stared at the man in the wheelchair in front of her.

"Ahem, Professor!" Bobby tried once more, but still no answer. He had no idea what was going on but Bobby got the clear impression that the Professor was not going to answer anyone's questions right now. He started to leave the two of them alone knowing that this was none of his business when he heard a loud thud. He spun around, found the bag dropped onto the doorstep and the woman standing smiling in front of his old Professor and what he saw next changed his picture of the calm, controlled man forever.

The young woman, Bobby guessed she was his age, maybe a bit older, bowed down and took the Professors face in her hands and placed a soft kiss on his lips. They parted briefly before Professor Xavier smiled and captured her lips once more and kissed her more passionately

Bobby opened his mouth and closed it over and over again, not believing his eyes.


	2. CHAPTER TWO

**A/N: R/R... that's all I'm saying... no wait. I wanna thank my Beta Carmilla. You've been a great help. Thank you.**

**No, please read on!**

CHAPTER TWO

"You'll never believe what I just saw!" Bobby exclaimed when he stormed into the kitchen, where most of the older students were already eating due to the extra lunchtime they got from the Professor's early dismissal. Everyone turned to him with big eyes, all hoping for something that would explain the Professor's strange behavior.

By taking deep breathes and putting a dramatic pause between his exclamation and the anticipated explanation, he wanted to gain their whole attention.

"Now, don't be an ass and simply tell us!" One of his fellow students shouted from behind the crowd and everyone laughed. Embarrassed he shrunk one inch or two and told them.

"Okay, okay! I found the Professor opening the door. Waiting outside was a young woman, she must be about our age." He pointed at Rogue and smiled at her before he went on.

"And?" Rogue asked, smiling at him in return.

"Nothing. They just stared at each other for some minutes before she finally came in."

The listeners began to whisper and grumbled if this had been all, but Bobby rose his hands to silence them.

"Wait!" he requested. They obeyed. "I just turned to leave, when" The tension reached it's peak. "She crawled onto the Professor's lap, …and…kissed…him!" Bobby pronounced the last three words, added some not so true elements but the reaction was worth it. An uproar went through the crowd.

"No way!" – "Shut up!" – "Oh…my…God!" were only some of the outcries.

Instantly the guessing started about how she might look like, if she was a mutant too, and what her powers might be like, where the Professor knew her from, why she was this young and why the Professor was kissing her. Did he have a younger girlfriend? Was her power to seduce nice, old men? Was she staying? And if she stayed, where was she going to sleep? Everyone but Rogue, who only sat there and thought about what Bobby had told them, was on a rumor high.

"What the hell is going on here? And why are all already here? Aren't you supposed to be in class?" a deep, rough voice cut through the babbling. "And why the heck do ya disturb my lunch?" Logan growled under his breath, chewing on his unlitcigar for he was not allowed to smoke it inside the mansion building. Still in an even worse mood than usual he took a seat next to Rogue. She smiled at him and got a grin in return. Always a grin.

"What kinda kiss was it?" Rogue asked finally, bringing her attention back to the main topic and everyone including Logan looked at her.

Bobby frowned. "What do you mean?"

Logan had no idea what she was talking about.

"Was the kiss only soft? Did she just kiss him on the lips and let go? Or was it something more deep? Something more…passionate?" Her cheeks turned slightly pink and she looked at Booby, after a short glanceat Logan. Now all eyes were back on Bobby.

"What kiss?" Logan asked but got no answer.

"Mhh, well it seemed more intimate. They definitely didn't kiss for the first time", Bobby answered after some thinking. To underline his statement he made a final nod.

"Okay, whatever." Logan said more or less uninterested and rose from his chair.

Rogue let out a long breath and shook her head in mere pity.

"Logan, Logan, Logan." She teased, shaking her head and slapped him on the back. "Never knew you were the nosy kinda guy. But I'll inform Jubes to put you on her 'Gossip News List'"

He looked at her and growled, while she left the kitchen.

"_Tell me, where have you been all those years? It must be ten now!" Charles said and laid next to her into the green grass. She lay on her back, staring at the indigo blue sky with the fluffy white clouds, sliding her feet slowly time and again over the greenest grass she had ever seen. They had spent some time now walking silently hand in hand through this quiet, perfect world he had created for them._

"_Here and there. The world is a big place!" she turned and faced him, smiling. "This is a wonderful place."_

"_I've been looking for a long time now to share this with someone." he said, now it was his turn to look up into the intense blue of the sky._

"_You're coming here often?"_

_He nodded. "I can rest here" he explained. He closed his eyes. Memories erupted, hers, his and they mixed. Memories of their shared past and memories of their time apart. He smiled at the warmth that began to spread, the familiar feeling, to have her here with him, inside of his head. But he suddenly began to frown. Something was different. It felt as if he was running again and again against a solid wall and he couldn't break through it nor see over it._

"Come on, lets get back. They're probably wondering where you are!" she said, ripping them both out of this fantasy. He nodded, slightly taking aback by that barrier he had felt.

"What the hell is he thinking?" Scott shouted, looking into the perplexed faces of his fellow X-Men. None of them knew what to say, nor did anyone dare to say anything. Since Jean's death Scott had changed. Everyone had thought that he would mourn his wife, but he had never done that. He had changed into a biting, snapping at everyone passing his way and foulmooded defeatist. For some time no one had said anything, thinking this was his way to get over it, or at least to forget it sometimes. But he never changed back, he was worse than Logan...sometimes.

"Surely he'll be back soon!" Storm said, trying to soothe the tension in the room.

They had been surprised to hear of the Professor's "friend" but that he would leave the mansion without telling anyone was not very likely for the old and experienced man.

"He should know better than this! Especially he!" Scott roared back. "Anything _could_ happen!"

No one had the courage to stand up against him when he was like that but Logan.

"Cool down, Buddy! The man wants some fun, let him" Logan said, leaning against the door-frame in the Professor's office and rose his hands. Scott spun around and faced Logan, wanting so badly to lower his ruby colored glasses and give the Wolverine a taste of what he was capable of, not for the first time. But like all the other times he resisted the urge to scorch the man to death.

"First," Scott had stormed over to Logan, standing only inches away from him, talking in a low and deadly voice. "I'm not your Buddy. Secondly, Magneto is still out there, planning whatever he is planning and Professor Xavier is wandering around like everything's alright. That's not very wise for a man his age in my eyes."

"Eye!" Logan added under his breath earning another glance from the X-Men team leader.

Marie who had watched the whole fight from a corner of the room shook her head, slightly amused. Logan never tried to talk rational with Scott, he had always to blow another beat under the waistline. But on the other hand she had never seen Logan handling something or someone rational. Bobby stood right next to her and they held hands. She looked at him and smiled. They both were still very proud that they were chosen to be two of the few X-Men. Some things had changed since then. They were training now on a regular basis with Logan as their instructor and Marie had realized very fast that she enjoyed their training sessions not only because of her growing strength and fighting abilities – she also liked watching their trainer. It had never been a secret that she had a crush on the big, bad Wolverine, but that was nothing compared to the emotions she had now. She was sure that if the Professor was ever going to read her mind while she was observing Logan he would blush. She started to think about her "oldest" mutant friend sweating in his worn out jeans and his old white undershirt when she heard someone saying her name.

"Rogue!" Bobby gestured with his head in direction of the door. She forced her mind away from her fantasies and back into reality and saw the Professor and a girl standing in the doorway. She looked at him and something about him was different. He smiled like she had never seen him smile before. She couldn't quite grasp it but to her he seemed happy. Marie frowned.

_How sad! _she thought. _I have never seen him that happy before. _And she asked herself if he was happy at all. The Professor turned his face to look at her and gave her a reassuring grin to let her know that he received her concern and appreciated it.

"Hello everyone. I'm glad to find all of you here. I'd like to introduce Isobel Young to you. She is a very good friend of mine. These are the X-Men. Scott, Ororo, Bobby, Rogue and Logan." he said proudly, and looked back at her. Isobel gave everyone a small, but charming smile to show her interest in them.

"We've heard." Scott muttered silently.

"I'm sorry if I worried you!" he turned to Scott in particular who lowered his gaze, clenching his jaw still angry with his mentor. He'd expected so much more from him. So much more.

"But we had a lot to catch up."

Logan watched the stranger curiously. The moment they had entered the room he had suddenly tensed up; even before he had looked at her. Her scent was in some weird way familiar. To smell her sent a shiver down his spine and a memory back into his conscious.

"_You shouldn't leave!" she said with a grave face. A band was playing in the background, an old song he hadn't heard in ages._

"_That's not my choice to make!" he said, holding her tighter. They danced slow to the music. "I'll be alright, you know that." He gave her a soothing and knowing smile. She returned the gesture and rested her head against his shoulder._

"_Be careful though!"_

Logan shook his head, feeling slightly dizzy. He looked at the young woman in horror.

"She is going to stay for a while!" Charles said, and with a final nod he dismissed them.

"We'll meet later, I'd like to fresh up a bit. " Isobel leaned down and kissed the Professor on the cheek. He nodded took her hand and gave it one last squeeze before she turned and left. All X-Men watched this time with their own wide open eyes. "It was nice to meet all of you!"

Logan took another glimpse at the petite young woman as she walked past him and was not able to tell whether or not she was the one he'd seen in this memories, or whatever they were, or did he only imagine it? He didn't know for sure, the last minutes had blurred in his mind.

Marie had witnessed Logan's interested glances. Somehow disappointed she shook her head. It was hard for her _to be a little girl to him_, still . She was now over twenty and slowly got annoyed every time he called her kid. It was cute in some ways, but she wasn't a kid anymore. She was of the same age like the woman he had laid an eye on now and she wanted sometimes so desperate to show him that she wasn't a kid anymore. She thought that he finally found a substitute for Jean although she had hoped that it would be her this time.

"You're coming?" Bobby asked and pulled softly at her hand, that was still entwined with his.

"Yeah!"

"Come in!" Charles said when he sensed Isobel just rising her hand to knock on his door.

The doorknob turned and revealed Isobel, grinning at him.

"Being telepathic kind of makes a door bell useless." she said and stepped in.

"It's very helpful to read someone's thoughts from time to time", he remarked with a little smirk.

It was very late and everyone was fast asleep, apart from the Professor, Isobel and certainly Logan. Charles had already changed into his night clothes and lay in bed, reading a book, Jules Verne, when Isobel was about to knock. He put the book aside and looked up at her how she stood in her nightgown next to him. He always had to look up at people, he thought wryly.

"What brings you here?"

"I don't know!"

'_You do know!'_ he said in her thoughts and she smiled, nodding ruefully. She liked it when he did this, talking to her in her head. It was so intimate and private.

After some moments of silently staring at each other she walked around the bed, lifted the sheet and lay down beside him.

"Would you believe me when I tell you that I can't sleep alone in my bed?" she asked with an innocent look in her eyes that changed into a more teasing smile before he could even answer.

"No, but that doesn't matter!"

Resting her head on her hand she watched him. "The age suits you well, Charles."

A little uneasy and with awkward but trained movements he slid down so they were facing each other. "I hope that is a compliment from someone who does not age." he retorted.

"Absolutely. I have seen a lot of old people and people getting older." she said convinced but soon her grin faded for a brief moment and she rose a hand to his cheek and stroke it softly.

"Now that I see you from a more…usual perspective," they both had to grin at that. "I realize just how much I missed you. I should have returned way earlier." Regret was rising in her eyes. A small laugh escaped his lips. Stuck in memories they were quiet again, not daring to say anything.

He looked at her and still couldn't believe that she was here. All these years he had once in a while wondered if he was going to see her again and now the answer lay right next beside him. Her hand was still on his cheek. Her skin was just as soft as he remembered it to be. She hadn't changed a bit. Her face, her hands, her scent, everything was like it had been all those years ago. He didn't remember the exact reasons for their last parting but how her hair felt on his skin was still burned in his memory.

"Maybe you should have, but past is past." he said focusing on the present again and tore the two of them away from the memory lane back into reality.

"You know, I love what you have done, building this school and taking the children. They are doing great under your observation. The last time we met you only taught these three kids. What were their names?"

"Scott, Jean and Ororo" he answered.

"Yes, you surely are proud of them!"

He nodded, sadly thinking about the scholar he had lost not so long ago but he shook his head, trying to force the painful memories back down.

"I'm glad I'm back!" she said.

He smiled and he took her head and let it rest on his chest. "Yes, so am I", he replied.


	3. CHAPTER THREE

**A/N: I promised I would update as soon as someone reviews. Tada, here it is! I hope you like it. Please let me know if you do. And again thx to Carmilla!**

**You Dela**

CHAPTER THREE

He lay wide awake in his bed. For over one hour he had watched the sleeping form right beside him.

The morning sun shone softly through the window, breaking through the half closed curtains in various rays. The light gave everything a strange glow and a bright aura. Isobel was one of those things. Her even breathing body was surrounded by a golden fringe, dust dancing in the ray of light around them.

It has been a long while since the last time a woman had slept in his bed and Charles enjoyed the presence of another person's body with all his senses.

He kept watching her, although he knew every little wrinkle in her face, every birthmark on her body and every movement of her eyes under her eyelids while she was dreaming.

He breathed the perfume in that still clung on her body, that was a part of her. He suspected that she had bought the whole stock of this perfume to have it for ever and always once she had found it. This fragrance belonged to her like the moon belonged to the earth.

He touched her skin, stroking softly, so to not wake her. It was still the same, soft, warm and young.

He kissed her forehead and tasted the salt of the thin layer of sweat.

He listened to the steady breathing, to the words she mumbled in her sleep. He listened to the sound of her voice in his head that kept whispering his name.

All this calmed him deep inside and he had missed this state of peace. He knew that the students and even his X-Men thought that he was kind of perfect, that he was as firm as a rock and would never break down. But the truth was that he needed a break. He was so tired and, he had admitted that a long time ago to himself, lonely.

He loved the children and was glad that he had the support of every one living in this mansion, but that was not that same as someone who sometimes only cared for him. Someone who asked you after a long day how you were. And so he was even more glad that Isobel was here. She gave him the break he so desperately had hoped for.

He closed his eyes and was about to listen to her breathing for a while, to get himself lured back to sleep by her presence. He felt that she was dreaming and that it was a nice dream. He smiled inwardly, got hooked by her feelings and drifted off to sleep when he suddenly felt something darken this happiness. It began to cover it like a big rain cloud darkened a sunny day and finally engulfed the sun until no light got through.

He opened his eyes with a start only to find Isobel looking at him with sleepy eyes.

"Hey, handsome." she whispered and smiled at him.

He breathed a bit faster, still shocked by the sudden change of the emotions he had received from her.

"What's wrong?" she asked slightly troubled by his actions and was suddenly wide awake.

"I was about to get back to sleep when I got...it was so strange. Do you have something on your mind. Are you in trouble?"

She frowned. "What? No! Charles, what's wrong? You look as if you've seen a ghost."

"It suddenly went all dark and..."

"Oh that." she said as it dawned on her what had happened.

"What?" he asked, still slightly shaken. This darkness, it was cold and hard, like a brick wall and getting it from her made it even worse. She was anything but this darkness. The worries rose anew.

"I've spent some time...some years training my mind to build a wall."

"Why?" he asked frowning. A wall, what for?

"Do we really have to discuss that now? I just woke up, it's going to be a beautiful day and..." but his stern look showed that he wanted to know now. She let out a rather annoyed breath and went on.

"Charles, even you must have registered that the world is not the friendly place we hope for. And you are one of the few mutants or normal humans who has good intentions. The time has come that I have to get myself prepared. Apart from that, even I have some things I don't want to think constantly about. The logical consequence is to lock it away. Are you happy now?"

He thought about it for a while. She had never hidden her thoughts or memories. Though it sounded logical and she was right about memories who sometimes needed to be locked away but still. Something was strange. It kept nagging at the back of his mind, though he nodded. He had to think about that for one moment or two.

She seemed satisfied because she asked him something and tore him out of his reverie.

"Okay, now that you started this uneasy conversation I can ask you what I wanted to ask you anyway. I want to make you a gift..." she began but Charles interrupted her immediately.

"Isobel, I appreciate your offer but I've told you twenty years ago and will tell you again. I don't want my youth back. I'm glad the way I..." he said in a stern voice but he got interrupted, too, for she laid one hand over his mouth to make him stop.

"Shut up. That's not what I intended to say. Although the thought of you and me and eternity is still worth thinking." He shot her a more or less angry glare and she smiled at that.

"No, let me finish." He nodded and she lowered her hand again. "Science made a quantum leap forward the past fifteen years. They discovered the true meaning of the DNA and particularly of it's functions. They know mostly how atoms work and what they do. So, with this knowledge I'm capable of using my powers more precisely."

He waited for her final statement because at the moment he had no idea where she was heading.

"Well, to make a long story short I could repair the damage on you legs, Charles!"

He stared at her, unbelieving.

"I see you need some time to think about that and you'll have it. I'm going to stay for a while." She got up and turned to him and he instantly forgot what she had offered him.

"I'm going to have some breakfast now. Do you want to join me? I could use some company." Isobel reached her hand out to offer him help but he made no effort to move in her direction.

"You know, you're still a sight for sore eyes like mine."

She waggled her eyebrows and smiled seductively at him. "And this is all yours!" she said and drove her arms from her chest down over her belly to her waist of her naked body.

"I'm not really hungry ", he said and smiled ambiguously.

"Me neither!" she said and jumped back into the bed. "I love lazy mornings", she said as she bent down and kissed him.

'Marie!'

'Marie!'

'Marie!'

The Wolverine inside of him growled with every beat of his heart.

'Shut up!' Logan ordered but the animally part of his personality had ceased to obey a long time ago.

At first it had been some kind of subconscious whisper which brought him to look up everytime his heightened senses felt her presence, long before Logan really noticed her. Back then he had thought that it was nothing special, because he'd promised to protect her and that he had to know where she was. But he became suspicious when the little voice in his head told him from time to time to take a look further down instead of her eyes, when it told him to turn every now and then when she passed him and observe her back and her butt.

He knew that something was different when he started watching her lips, her soft and young lips, very closely, every time she talked to him.

And he had no idea when all of this had started, but he knew damn well that it had to stop soon before it got worse - though it already did with every passing day.

It was bad already and he was sure that some had already noticed his strange behavior when it came to her. He had been her guard ever since they first met but now...now he was miles apart from that. He was obsessive. He tried not to show it and was sure that he usually did a good job hiding it, but sometimes he just didn't. Once he had almost beat the jerk behind the counter at McDonald's up because he had smiled at her. It had been a very embarrassing moment holding that guy by his collar and Marie asking what the hell he was doing. Not good. And at the moment he was close to hell. There she sat at a table with her wimp of a boyfriend laughing and smiling at him, for him, not wasting one thought about Logan, or at least that was what he thought.

He wanted to jump from his chair, over the tables of the breakfast hall and get a good hold onto Icy's neck for just one minute.

Angrily he swallowed his craving for her and the want to get her away from Iceboy. He looked down into his bowl filled with cereals and almost smashed it when he rammed the spoon furious into the milk

This earned the attention of some students who turned but thought about it and spun around again when they noticed who had made this noise.

No woman in his life had ever made him feel like this, stupid, helpless and he hated feeling stupid and helpless. Since when did she have this effect on him? He didn't recognize himself.

But to top it all he was not only drawn to her physically. No, he began to suspect that it was way more serious, that he really wanted to be with her longer than one night or two. He was afraid that he was in love with her in some sick kind of way because he could be easily fifty or sixty years older than her for all he knew. Logan, the Wolverine, in love with the untouchable girl! In his head it sounded like a joke worth telling but in his heart he wasn't able to laugh about it, because he wanted it too much to laugh.

He took a deep breath, took his tray and got up to get in the Danger Room for some mind distracting work out.

Logan took one last glance over his shoulder to steal one last look of Marie and found her staring at him with a look he only knew as longing.

He turned and closed his eyes tightly. Great, she really was able to make his bad situation even worse with one look – and he'd thought he had already reached his lowest point.

'This is going to be a hell of a work out!' he thought and left, not seeing Marie watching him with a sad expression on her face, struggling with her own feelings.


	4. CHAPTER FOUR

**A/N: Ahem...yes...hello you guys. I'm soooo sorry it took me so long to update. Really sorry. But you know work and all. And I was tortured by a white haired, old man who thinks he knows everything better about my job! Well, whatever. Here the next chapter goes and I hope I'm able to update sooner the next time... sorry again!**

**R/R please. Thx**

**Dela**

CHAPTER FOUR

The room was dark, only lit by some candles on the neat decorated table. Charles and Isobel sat at the table and ate in comfortable silence, enjoying the food and the company. From time to time they glanced up into each other's eyes and smiled.

He had to laugh inwardly, he felt like a young man again, strangely wonderful and silly and emotional at the same time. It was great.

"You know, I've met Eric.", she said suddenly, breaking the silence, inbetween two sips of her Bordeaux. Charles looked up and rose one eyebrow.

"Eric?" he asked.

She nodded, gulping down a bit of her steak. "Charles, this is delicious." she said unbelieving and indicated with her fork down onto her plate.

"Thank you." he answered rather quiet. Charles hesitated one moment before he asked.

"So, what did Eric say?" His voice sounded curiously but somewhat innocent while he kept eating, not looking at her. Now that she had mentioned Eric he believed that this had been what she had kept from him since her arrival.

She let out a long breath. "We were just talking. We had to catch up a little bit." Isobel stared at him annoyed, foreboding where this conversation was going to end.

"Just in case you have already forgotten. Eric is my friend."

"I know that he is your friend, I'm sorry." he said politely, calming her again.

They returned to their food, the tension fading slowly.

Every now and then Charles looked up, every time taking a breath, about to say something and it began to slowly unnerve her.

"Say it, what ever it is say it!"

Before she could even finish her request he started.

"You know that he changed quite a bit since our younger years."

She threw her cutlery onto her plate.

"Please, Charles. Don't." she begged, her temper rising once more.

He cleaned his mouth with a napkin. "All I am saying is that you have to be careful around him" his voice calm but sincere.

Isobel rose, slowly but her face was a mirror of her inner turmoil. She began to slowly pace up and down the room. Her breath heavy, reaching her boiling point with every word he said.

"He is a very dangerous man. I've told you before."

"Okay, that's it!" she said, facing him, her hands resting on her hips.

"We have had that before. And I'm sick of it. I really am." she stated, voice low and dangerous.

"I don't know when you two broke apart ... in the end." she cooled down a bit, sounding only sad. "Even for me it's a life time ago." she said and rubbed her forehead. "But I'm not part of this fight. I have never been and never will be. Please don't always try to get me on your side." Isobel's and Charles' eyes met for the first time since their argument had begun.

"God, you two have been like brothers. What happened Charles?"

He only shook his head. "Our points of view changed and in the end we weren't able to find back together."

"He misses you, you know!" She watched him closely. He lowered his head. "And I know that you miss him, too."

Of course he did. They had spent so much time together, had experienced a lot together and that the things had turned out as they did had hit him deep. He had only a few weak spots, but Eric was one of them. To find out what Eric was planning, to know what he was capable of felt like a great betrayal. It was like a slap in the face. It hurt so much to find out that they weren't on the same side, that they were not going to fight side by side, to find out that he had been so wrong in his judgment of his best friend, of his brother. He still refused to believe that he had overseen the obvious.

"That makes the things he had done not less wrong, though." he stated in a resigning kind of voice.

"I know that. Don't you dare to treat me like a child, young man." said Isobel threateningly, sounding suddenly very old.

"Why do you always have to make the same mistakes? Why do you always have to start with this? Talk to me when you grew up!" she said and threw the napkin she was clenching in her fist onto the table and stormed out of the room.

Charles remained silent for several minutes before he dared to let out a long sigh.

He suddenly asked himself when everything had become so difficult, when everything had turned black and white. Back then he would have never thought that they would become enemies in the end. He longed for the time when he and Eric were still friends.

He shook his head, bringing himself out of the reverie. These time were gone and nothing could change that. Not even Isobel.

He sat at the open window, one foot resting against the windowsill. He smoked his cigar, breathing in the intoxicating smell, tasting the nicotine.

It was 2 o'clock in the morning, his dreams had once more woken him. It was nothing new but it hadn't been one of his usual nightmares, though. No less frightening or confusing.

The cool night wind blew fresh air into his room and he was slowly starting to get cold, but that was something he needed right now to get a clear mind again. It didn't work all too well but at least he had tried.

He took another puff of his cigar.

Logan stared out into the darkness that seemed to engulf everything including him.

Why the hell was she in his dreams now? Seeing her in his wake state was torture enough, why did she have to invade his sleep now, too? This was so frustrating. The feelings he had for her were so strange, foreign to him but at the same time comforting. He'd never felt like this before, at least he couldn't remember. He was so damn confused. Nothing seemed to be in place, at the same time though everything felt in place, right. It wasn't only her mutation that kept everything as things were now, no - his age was a big problem for him. A barrier that was impregnable. She wasn't a kid anymore that was for sure, she was something over twenty now, but he had no idea how old he was. For all he knew he could be her great grand daddy. He didn't even know his own last name. He at least should be able to offer her that.

He drew one hand through his untidy hair. "God, this is crazy!" he muttered. He shook his head, pictures of his latest dream popped up in his mind.

He closed his eyes, reliving the dream against his better judgment.

When he was about to fall asleep again with an image of her before his inner eye he heard a rather loud thud from the ground floor, his superior senses catching up to it instantly and his eyes snapped open just as fast.

Another thud rang through his ears and Logan rose to his feet, putting the cigar out in the snow on the window-ledge and ran down as fast as he could. His paranoid mind was not able to suppress the thoughts of the last attack at the mansion.

When he reached the first floor however and listened again he heard instead of several men charging the mansion only an angry quiet growl coming from the kitchen. Curiosity got the better of him and he approached the door, light shining through the gap between the door and floor.

Slowly and still cautious he opened the door only to find an extremely furious looking Isobel rummaging through the cupboards. "Where the hell..." she cursed under her breath while she kept searching for something.

Amused he watched the small woman for sometime because she didn't seem to notice him.

"Damn!" she swore and slammed her fist onto the table, after she let herself slump in one chair.

"What're you lookin' for?" he asked with a mocking smile on his face.

Startled she looked up and saw Logan standing in the door, leaning at the door-frame. "God, do you always sneak up to people?" she retorted unnerved, lowering her head onto the table and banged it onto it.

Suddenly she rose again with a jolt and looked at Logan expectantly. "You!" she said and pointed her index finger at him. With three or four long strides she stood in front of him.

"Me what?" he asked irritated, one eyebrow risen.

"You look like a guy who knows where to get something to drink!"

"In the fridge?" he answered.

"Hell, no." she exclaimed and threw her hands up in despair. "Do I look like someone who needs a stupid Dr. Pepper? No. I mean something real... something... you know... good stuff."

And it dawned on him.

"How old are ya?" he asked suspiciously, looking her up and down.

"Well, thank you for this. But I'm old enough to drink whatsoever alcohol I want."

"Prove it." he demanded. "As a kinda teacher I can't just let..." he said, his eyebrows risen, looking serious at her.

"Oh, stop this!" she said, furrowing her brow.

"This' a school. You won't find good ol' Jack in the kitchen!"

"But you know where he is, right?" she asked hopeful.

"Sure." he said and tugged his hands in his jeans pockets. "Follow!"

It was 3.30 in the middle of the night and Logan and Isobel were sitting in front of several emptied bottles of whiskey, vodka and other alcoholic drinks on the couch and were talking about one thing or another. They had spent the last hour to get them selves as drunk as possible, which didn't work well for either of them. Everyone for own reasons, reasons neither of them exposed.

"Ah've gotta say that you're quite a good drinker for your age." Logan said after he had drowned another shot of vodka, wondering why she was able to keep up with him. Others would have needed an ambulance several glasses ago.

"Thank you. You're coping good yourself, too, for such a young man." she answered resting her head on the far end of the couch, looking at the ceiling.

"Ah'm not that young." he retorted and poured them another drink.

"Don't say this. From my perspective you're a youngster."

"Youngster? In which century are ya living?"

"Well I'm one hundred fifty years old. I may say what ever I want." she said in a snootily voice, sat up and rose her voice up high before she took her drink and drowned it. Logan on the other hand sprayed the whiskey he had drunk all over the table.

"What?"

"Yeah, I'm wondering why I still bother to count the years." she asked herself, tapping the empty shot glass against her chin.

"Hundred and fifty?"

"Hey, didn't your mother told you not to talk about a woman's age like that?" Isobel asked outraged but saw Logan's still unbelieving stare.

"Plus, minus one or two years. Hell, I stopped counting the years." she said astonished, now scratching her chin.

"But how?" he asked. One hundred and fifty years. He thought about the vision or dream or what the hell it might have been and suddenly had the feeling that Isobel really could be the one he had seen.

"God, I don't know myself. I had so many birthdays and apparently I lost track somewhere along the way."

"No, that's not what I meant."

"Oh...oh! That. Well. I am able to control the growing, regeneration and admitted destruction of living cells. And my body somehow seems to control these abilities when it comes to myself." she chuckled a bit but the laugh didn't reach her eyes. "So I'm a healthy hundred fifty year old maid in the body a twenty three year old girl." She let out a snort and watched at the empty bottles. "Well, that's quite the good stuff. I haven't been drunk like this for ages."

He looked at her still unbelieving. If she really was this old she could be able to help sort out some of his past. It would explain why he had seen her in this vision. It would explain why he reacted to her scent. And it would explain why it felt like he'd finally found an old friend. Since their drinking session had started he instinctively knew the she could be trusted, and he trusted hardly anyone. Except for Marie. She had been different from the start. He knew that the girl not only meant no danger but could be trusted as well. Since their first encounter and their shared experiences he had found out that she was somehow his peace.

Suddenly angered that he once again thought about the one person he had tried to avoid think about he slammed his hands over his eyes and began to rub them.

'Marie!' the Wolverine within him began to scream again.

The alcoholic effect seemed to fade off.

"Hey!" Isobel said in a very loud voice and he snapped back to the present time and place.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing!" he answered gruff.

Rising her arms in surrender, she signaled him that she didn't intent to cross anything he didn't want her to and that she won't ask him again.

"I am not stupid enough to mess with you." she said and grinned after lowering her hands again.

Disgruntled he took the last sip of the whiskey bottle. Flinching at the burning sensation that crept down his throat slowly.

Isobel watched Logan carefully and decided to sooth the built up tension.

"So tell me Logan. What makes you one of Charly's precious X-Men?" Isobel asked.

And without any kind of warning, without any sign of action she heard a swishing sound echoing through the empty corridors of the ground floor, and she was startled when she realized where the noise had come from.

Logan held his hand in front of himself and looking, emotionless at the shiny, silver blades that were protruding from his skin.

She gasped so loud when she saw his claws that he turned and looked into a deeply shocked face, her eyes darting back and forth from him to the blades in his hands.

Too shocked for some stranger. He had counted on that effect his claws had on other people but this was unexpected.

"That is not your mutation!" It was more a statement than a question.

"No!" He retracted his claws and showed her his knuckles. The wounds the metal had cut healed in no time and after a blink of an eye it was not visible that the skin has ever been damaged.

"I've got an advanced healing ability." was all he said, still pondering about Isobel's strange reaction.

But before he could ask or do anything else she rose, slightly shaking and wobbly in her walking as she slowly left the room, leaving him alone in the dark living room.

"Uhm...I have got to go...it's late and I have...to...!" Isobel stuttered and ran as fast as she was able to up the stairs and was gone. He heard a distant door being slammed shut.

'Strange, interesting but strange.' Logan thought before rising himself and cleaned the mess they'd left.

"Hell, now I'm the also the damn charwoman." he muttered to himself, when he threw the bottles into the dustbin and walked off to bed.


	5. CHAPTER FIVE

**A/N: Hello guys! I succeded in updating faster than the last time! Yay! And I hope you like the chapter. Please tell me if you do and don't, of course. And tell me if you'd like to read a sequel. I'd like to thank Carmilla, for she is a wonderful great and patient beta. Thx! Your Dela**

**CHAPTER FIVE**

How could he do this to her? How the hell could he do this to her? This was so not appropriate. He was a damn telepath, he should know what she was feeling. God, he should know what happened last night. Nice girlfriend the Professor had. Flirting bold with another guy in the middle of the night she only knew for, what, barely one day. Drinking with him till dawn. What kind of woman was that?

And now that. Wonderful, just peachy. Marie stopped suddenly dead in her tracks to take one or two steady, calm and deep breaths. Although she was able to control the different personalities in her head most of the time, the Wolverine and Magneto inside of her made it hard not to burst out a scream, a shout of anger, pain and fear. Every now and then Eric mocked her and told her that Logan could never look at the Untouchable like he looked at Jean or Isobel. Unsuccessfully she tried to calm herself, to shut the voices up, and resumed her angry pace through the corridors of the big mansion.

She thought back to the morning hours when she had been working on her arts assignment. The Professor had approached her, talking to her about her mutation and that he recommended to meet with "Mrs Young", as he had refereed to her with a slight and barely visible smile.

Marie's heart ceased to beat for a second. She rose her already clenched fist and knocked at the door that lead to the room of "Mrs Young". Marie waited, her anger growing with every passing second she had to wait in front of the room.

"Oh, hello!" Isobel said suddenly, ripping Marie out of her raging reverie, obviously confused. She held a towel in her hand, rubbing her wet hair, her other hand on the doorknob. She wore a bath robe, evidently not expecting any visitors right now.

"I thought we were supposed to meet in one hour!"

Rogue didn't know when she had started to be jealous. She had never been jealous before. She wasn't the type for it. At least she thought so until last night. She wasn't jealous when Jean was still around and Logan's look seemed to darken every time she was around. Because Jean had Scott and Marie somehow always had the feeling that Logan flirted with Jean mainly to irritate Scott. But for some reasons this woman was different. Again Marie took a deep breath hoping to release some of her anger. It worked just as well as the last time. Not at all.

"Rogue?"

Marie turned to the young woman in front of her and closed her eyes.

"Listen." she began. "I'm here because the Professor had asked me to. But I'm not sure this is going to work. I'm trying for a very long time now to get this mutation under control and I don't see how you could possibly help."

"I see." Isobel lowered her towel and head. "We'll try nonetheless." Her head snapped back up and she took a step aside and gestured Marie to enter.

Reluctant Marie went inside and immediately sat down, looking everywhere but Isobel.

"Okay, give me a minute. I just want to get dressed before we start."

"No need to. As I told you. Whatever you want to do, it's not gonna work. This won't take long."

"Mhh, I'm not surprised that nothing worked so far."

"What do you mean?" glowering at her, as she saw it, opponent Marie got to her feet, crossing her arms defensively.

"Darling, your attitude ain't the most positive one I've seen in my life. You should work on that before we start." Isobel shook her head.

'Who is she to judge me?' Marie thought and her anger reached another high.

"Fine."

And with one turn Marie was on her wait out. With an anger furiously rushing through her whole body Marie almost broke the door when she slammed the door shut behind her. The blood streaming fast and loud through her that she didn't hear Isobel following her out into the corridor. Only another loud bang brought her to turnabout and find Isobel breathing just as hard as herself.

"You are probably the cockiest girl I've ever met." Isobel shouted at her.

She couldn't believe it.

"What?" she was so furious she wasn't even able to form a coherent sentence.

"You heard me right."

"You don't know me. You have no right to..." Marie began but was cut short by Isobel.

"No I don't. But I know your kind. You're drowning in self-pity."

Until now some students were gathering around the two women in rage, watching the whole scene. Scandals were very rare in this school. Now they had one.

"So, my kind? I don't know many who haven't been really touched for over four years now."

Isobel smiled a thin and not really happy smile. "That's just what I mean." She marched over to where Marie stood and was merely inches away from her.

"I tell you what Missy. You're not the only one suffering because of her mutation." Closing her eyes Isobel took a raging breath. "I know how you're feeling." Isobel tried to get this conversation or whatever it was onto a more civil level and looked back up, some of the fury in her eyes gone.

"You don't know anything!" Marie hissed.

That brought Isobel once more over the edge. "You think? But you know just as much of me as I know about you."

"Right, and I'd like to keep it that way." Marie spat and turned to leave again, having enough of this.

"What about Scott, Rogue."

Confused about what Scott could have to do with this Marie stopped. "What about him?"

"Oh, do I have your humble attention now?"

Marie faced the still wet woman.

"You have never ever wasted a thought about how he lived before he met Charles... Professor Xavier, who helped him and give him that glasses?"

Questioning Marie looked at her, her forehead wrinkled by a frown.

"I thought so. Well I know how. He lived in fear, everyday, that when he dared to open his eyes he could kill someone he loved. He had tied a shawl over his eyes to make sure that he wouldn't be able to open them. He hasn't seen a red rose's real beauty since he was thirteen. Thirteen, Rogue. Think about it. And he still can't control it. He needs the help of the glasses. Or let's take Storm for example. It took some years and a house she'd blown up with a lightning to finally learn how to control this. No one here has a simple life. No mutant does. I know you're bitter. But don't you dare to think that you're the only one who suffers." A tear ran down Isobel's cheek, the anger gone only hurt was left. And with that Isobel was gone and let her door suffer once more, and bashed it shut.

Hard breathing Marie still stood in the corridor, staring at the place the other woman had been only moments before, being observed by her fellow students. Then she left, too.

_

* * *

__"Did you really have to shout at her like that?"_

_"It was time someone did, Charles. You know that."_

_Charles and Isobel were once again in the invented dream plane, though it was not as beautiful as before. It was a barely lit, dark room, with only the two of them standing in the middle._

_"I can understand that you want to protect her. Like you always do." Isobel lowered herself to the floor, crouching and resting her head in her hands. "She just, I don't know, pulled the right trigger." Her head rose. "But I'm not sorry. Someone had to bring her around."_

_Slowly Charles sat down opposite from her. "She doesn't know what you've been through."_

_"She doesn't know what anyone has been through. She is way too self absorbed."_

_"Yes, I know. That's why I asked you to help because you were just like her!"_

* * *

Here she was. At his door. For over half an hour now! He probably knew she was there the moment she turned into the corridor that led to his room.

Why was she here anyway? It was ridiculous. She should be standing in front of her boyfriend's door, wanting to talk to him. But she didn't.

It was Logan she needed right now. Not Bobby but Logan.

Slowly she rose her hand and dared to knock. It was a soft, shy knock but she knew that he had heard her.

She heard a gruffy "C'min!" and opened the door.

"What kept you so long kid?" he asked and referred to her waiting outside his door.

She didn't say a word. She just slid the door shut, walked over to him and sat down on his bed next to him.

"Can I ask you something?" Her voice was low, sad. He smelled salt on her and found that she had been crying.

"Marie, what happened?"

"I... she. She said I... do you think I'm arrogant? Do you think that I'm egocentric and don't care about other people?"

"What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"I don't know. Maybe she's right."

"Who?"

"Mrs. Young."

"What has she to do with this?"

Logan was so confused by now he had no idea what was worrying her nor what that strange girl, woman had to do with it.

"Kiddo, I have no idea what you are talking about could you please start from the beginning?"

A secret tear escaped her eyes which she angrily wiped away.

"The Professor asked me to meet with her. He said that she might be able to help me control my powers. I didn't think so. I mean she's only a little older than me. And no one knows what kinda mutation she has. And I was so mad... and... then we started arguing and then she said that I only thought about how much I suffer and that I didn't care about what others have gone through. Am I really like this?"

Her face was full of hurt. He hadn't seen her like this since the day she tried to run away and got kidnapped by ol' Magneto.

God, how he ached to take her in his arms and wipe those tears from her face and hold her. But he knew that once he had her close to him, closer than she already was, he wanted more of this. More of her next to him, near him, with him.

He shut his eyes tight to fight the urge to do so anyway.

"Marie. She is wrong. You're a wonderful person. And you care. You don't want to hurt anyone. And you watch out for others. You take care of others. Maybe too much sometimes. Don't let her tell you something else."

"But I think she might be right at some point."

"Why?"

"I dunno. I just need time to think it all over." This was so embarrassing and she didn't want to think about it anymore but she knew she had to. "God!" It hurt to think about it and to think that that stupid brat was right. She drove one hand trough her hair and the white streaks in her hair fell over face.

And he understood.

"Hey, kid. Marie. You wanna stay some time?" he almost only breathed the question and she nodded.

He took a deep breath and lay back against the head board. The arms crossed behind his head.

But to his surprise she didn't lay down beside him, no. She slid up and rested her head on his chest.

The sensation of feeling her weight on his belly hit him instantly. His heart made a jump and another part of his anatomy, too. This was no good. He knew that but she kept snuggling closer and after some moments he felt her breath even. What should he do now? He had now idea. Could he possibly wake her and tell her to leave? No. He still smelled the scent of tears and it hurt him that she was so sad. Nope, he would let her rest and tell her to get to her own bed later. Yes, he would do that. Yes, he _could_ do that.

But all plans can go wrong. And Logan's plan did go wrong. Not terribly wrong, but it simply didn't take the turn he intended because the plan had a weak point: his own tiredness.

He fell asleep shortly after Rogue. His eye lids became heavier and heavier and soon he was sound asleep.

Some time through the night though without really noticing Logan's arms slipped from behind his head down next to him and onto Rogue and her uncovered elbow.

None of them awoke because of this little incident. Both slept, peacefully next to each other through most of the night.

A knock on the door in the middle of the night startled Isobel out of her sleep.

* * *

"Who the hell...?" she cursed under her breath when she got out of her bed after the person knocked again. Groggily she switched the light on and tied her bath robe tight around her body. She blinked a few times because of the sudden brightness. And like that, frowning and with tousled hair, she opened the door.

"Rogue?" Isobel exclaimed, now wide awake.

She asked the young woman in instantly after seeing the sad look on her face.

"Apart from the daytime, uhm... nighttime, what are you doing here. I thought I'd never see you again after our little disagreement."

"Yeah, well. That's something I wanted to talk to you about." Marie fumbled with the hem of her left glove, eyes cast downwards and it took a few moments for her to find her voice again. "I'm sorry that I..."

"No, listen Rogue. I'm sorry." Isobel sat down and gestured Marie to follow suit. She took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm going to tell you some things now I usually don't like to talk about. Especially to people I don't really know. Because the truth is I know you!"

Marie wanted to protest, took a deep breath to object again and start the whole discussion all over again, but Isobel rose a hand to stop the young woman.

"No let me finish." And Marie obeyed. "I know that I... don't know you personally but I know what you are going through because I went through the same thing.

"I know the feeling when no one is able to touch you. I know that feeling when you flinch away when someone tries to touch you, when the fear grips you whenever you pass someone who has too short sleeves and might brush a part of your exposed skin. I know the hunger for a real, I mean real hug. Skin to skin. No fabric between you and the other person. How you starve inside and become bitter because you envy those who think that touching is natural and nothing special because they do it everyday. I know how it is to feel isolated, untouchable and with that unlovable. I know all this Rogue."

By the time Isobel had finished her short musing Marie was crying silently. New tears were mingling with the scent of the already dry ones.

"My mutation was very cruel before I learned how to control it. My ability or as I saw it then curse is that I can control the aging or regeneration of cells and the stability of chemical connections. I can tell you it's not nice to see a person age many decades in a few minutes only because you touched that someone. Or the feeling of your clothes fall apart because something in your body destroys something on the molecular level. All this is a long, a very long time ago but I still feel the curious looks and the disgust in other peoples eyes. I don't want to feel like this ever again and I don't wish anyone on this planet to go through that."

Isobel looked away. Memories surfacing along with the pain. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"I'm telling you all this because I need you to trust me. I need you to trust me because I don't know if I can really help you when you don't."

Marie nodded. She didn't really know what to think. She wanted to believe that woman was able to help her. All the things she had told her... she felt exactly like that. But still, trust her? How? She didn't know her and it still bugged her that she seemed to flirt with Logan and the closeness that seemed to be between them. It was just... she still could feel Logan's heartbeat on her cheek. His breath that drove through her hair and tickled her face. It was stupid of her to fall asleep there, on his bed... no on him. Who knew what would have happened if he accidently brushed her face or part of her uncovered arms? He surely would be dead by the moment she felt the pull. But still, it had felt so good to be with someone like that. Logan was the only one she trusted enough to be that someone. She knew that. There was no point in denying that. Bobby would never be able, no matter how patient or careful he was, to get her to open up the way Logan did. What if Logan and Isobel...?

"Rogue?"

With a snap she returned to the woman next to her.

"Yeah?"

"I'd like to help you but you have to let me. Do you think you could do that?"

Marie watched Isobel for one more moment.

"I can't promise you that I'm going to fully trust you. But I wanna do my best. That's all I can give you."

"That's a start and a good one." Isobel smiled. "But I'd suggest that we start after another hour or two of sleep."

With that the two women part and left each for their own beds and both began to dream.

One about the man she thought she could never win.

The other about the man she knew she had lost.


End file.
